Wrestling’s 4R’s Friday Edition 2.05.10: Raw and ECW Reviewed!

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 02.05.2010

Vince McMahon humiliates Bret Hart on Monday and then announces the end of an era on Tuesday! Elsewhere the Raw Elimination Chamber took form, Christian battled Zach Ryder, and William Shatner played guest host! Wrestling's 4R’s breaks down all the action from Raw and ECW!

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By: Jeremy Thomas

Raw 02.01.10:
John Cena d. Cody Rhodes [* 3/4]
Triple H d. Jack Swagger [** 1/2]
Randy Orton d. Shawn Michaels [*** 1/4]
Ted DiBiase d. Mark Henry [* 1/2]

QUICK RESULTS:

THE RIGHT:

PHASERS ON AWESOME: So we had William Shatner as guest host this week. Shatner was used very well for the most part and I enjoyed the hell out of what he did. The opening bit with Vince was fun and featured some of Shatner's typical theatrical speech mannerisms, and the Bret support got him an easy cheap pop. Later, Miz and the Big Show were hanging out in Shatner's dressing room to get a tag title match against DX when Punk and Gallows walked in to try and do the same. That brought in William Shatner: Raw Match Negotiator. Awesome graphic, by the way. Both sides made their arguments, and Shatner booked a triple-threat tag team match. The time is very ripe for Punk and Gallows to win the titles if you ask me; Miz is going to be busy with his US Title feud with MVP, and the 'H/HBK split seems to be building. But anyway, Shatner was again in top form as he played things cheesy but fun. Santino and the entire Raw Creative Team could learn a thing or twenty from him.

Plus, if no other thing was good (and they were), this is more than enough to put this in the Uber-Right:



William Shatner: Greatest Guest Host Ever. End of Story.

A RATED-R RETURN TO RAW: Monday Night Raw kicked off with the Rated-R Superstar being introduced and making his way down to the ring with a bit of a mixed reaction; the crowd understandably didn't know whether he was going to be a heel or a face now that he's back since he really didn't have an opportunity to chat while he was beating everyone's ass and winning the Royal Rumble. It probably won't help that Vintage called him by his old nickname, the Ultimate Opportunist, a title Edge himself brought up in his promo. Edge had a big-ass grin on his face as he announced that he was back, but rushed early on and tripped over his words a bit. He adjusted quickly and then took us back to when he won the Unified Tag Titles with Jericho but got injured, then played up the "maybe never coming back" angle and Jericho's Slammy speech as motivators to him coming back. Edge played it just a wee bit over the top, but he had a fun little rip on Dennis Miller and the crowd was pretty into it. They weren't at Rock or Austin levels but they were reacting to everything he said and that was nice. Edge talked about how he could face any champion he wanted to and could face the Dead Man, or he could face Sheamus. It came down to him saying he would wait until after the Elimination Chamber finished up, which isn't such a dumb move really.

At this point, Sheamus came out with the WWE Heavyweight Title around his waist. The big ol' pasty Celt walked into the ring and the crowd gave him a good amount of heat. Sheamus said a lot had changed, to which Edge had a nice little comeback. Sheamus said he'd never competed at 'Mania, but he did beat Cena for the title which Edge failed to do. Edge came back strong and yet Sheamus had another counter. Sheamus told Edge to run off to SmackDown and Edge teased a confrontation, but Sheamus was faster to the punch. That turned into a brawl that Edge got the better of, and by the time the segment was over there was no question where Edge lay in the alignment tables. Well…okay, maybe he's hanging somewhere around Chaotic Neutral if you really think about it, but I digress. This was a solid promo from Sheamus and while it wasn't Edge's strongest work, it did exactly what it needed to do in establishing Rated-R as a big-time babyface and bringing him back in a strong fashion.

ELIMINATION CHAMBER QUALIFIER: JACK SWAGGER vs. 'H: Well, this one wasn't in doubt. Swagger came down to the ring and did his thing, but when the H-Man came out to his "The Game" music you knew this was on. Hunter doesn't lose with that theme song. I give credit to Swagger for showing no fear when 'H came down to the ring, keeping that cocky grin on his face as he watched. I will give 'H some credit here, he helped do a lot to get Swagger over; the problem is that Swagger's gotten big showings every now and then, but then they fail to capitalize. Obviously he didn't win here but I don't think anyone expected him to, at least not without some potential Shawn-erference. Shawn didn't show so 'H advances. The match was a solid affair and the two guys looked very good in there against each other; there was no awkwardness and while it was essentially a power match, it worked very well as such and I enjoyed the way it played out.

ELIMINATION CHAMBER QUALIFIER: RANDY ORTON vs. SHAWN MICHAELS: Before this match, Shawn was backstage and 'H came back to talk to him. After waving Hornswoggle off to go bite someone, then addressed the night before's superkick. 'H played it cool and was joking, but Shawn was all tormented and upset he didn't get his chance to take Undertaker on at 'Mania. Hunter told him to let it go and that he was losing it, and to get into the Elimination Chamber so they could tear it down together. Shawn didn't seem to be into it though and just walked off, leaving the H-Man looking a bit worried. I enjoyed the way they played this off, with Hunter trying to be a good-natured friend while Shawn was clearly not receptive but also wasn't over the top about it. It's a slow build, and we all know how well slow-build angles for HBK usually turn out.

Orton did a slow walk down to the ring and was looking all creepy silent, with brief flashes of bury while he waited in the ring for Shawn. The crowd still popped for HBK, and Shawn did the full-on Sexy Boy entrance complete with posing for pyro and pointing at the crowd, but something was clearly off with him in character. They started off nice and slow and then proceeded to build it into something really good. If Shawn didn't seem to be heading toward heeldom, I think a full-on one-on-one feud between these two would be a hell of a lot of fun; their styles complement each other better than Orton and 'H. Both men were on a mission and the collision of these two obsessed men was a stroke of very smart booking; two men driven near-mad with their goals, but only one could go onto the EC. They had an excellent sense of timing and it felt well-paced without having them go too insanely fast. The finish was fantastic and came out of nowhere, and will even play into the storyline for Shawn as he did a glory-boating kippup that cost him. I enjoyed the hell out of this match, and Shawn's post-match frustration was awesome.

THE HITMAN/CHAIRMAN SAGA, CHAPTER TWO: The Bret Hart saga continued this week on Raw. It started with Josh Matthews coming up to Vince backstage and asking if he'd seen Bret, to which the Boss replied we would be unlikely to see him there at all. They then teased that he had barged into Vince's office, but in fact it was William Tiberius Shatner himself who said he couldn't wait to see the Hitman embarrass Vince. We then got a few recaps of Montreal before the main event interview, where Jerry Lawler introduced his BFF, William Shat—

His what? Oh, Jesus. Shatner and Lawler had a little fun in the ring and then Big Willie Style took the mic to introduce the Hitman. Down to the ring came Bret, to what honestly sounded to me to be a bigger pop than he got the first time he came down a few weeks back. Bret hit the ring and talked about how he's had a month to think about things regarding when he was kicked in the Jimmies by Vince. Bret said he wasn't there to make peace anymore, he was there to talk to Vince. Bret did a very solid job on the mic again for his solo work, and then when Vince came down he did an awesome little dance-strut. I tried to make an animated gif, but that is not my strongest skill, alas. Vince hit full-on heel mode and said he didn't regret a thing he'd done to Bret; the Hitman had his own counters about the lies Vince had told him throughout the years. Comparisons of Stu and Vince abounded, and Bret talked about how he had been in a wheelchair but he made a commitment to get out of the wheelchair and so on. The promo turned to threats from Bret, and the crowd was obviously dying to see him make good on them. For Vince's part, he ran down all Bret's nicknames and called them all crocks, including the Canadian Hero bit. Vince had his usual awesome facial expressions and started escalating his voice just a bit, and Bret rose to the occasion. Vince went full-bore insulting on the man, and finally rescinded his nomination of Stu into the WWE Hall of Fame because he didn't deserve it, and finally things got physical. The crowd was going nuts before Big Dave came down and got involved, beating Bret down. The crowd went abs-freaking-lutely nuts chanting for Cena, and while Bret ended up humiliated you know that it's going to turn out just fine when Cena gets involved. This was a fantastic way to continue the feud because it gave the fans what they wanted in Bret beating Vince, but kept Vince on top so the feud could continue. If Bret comes out on top, the feud is over. So yeah, I loved this.

PURGATORY:

ELIMINATION CHAMBER QUALIFIER: JOHN CENA vs. CODY RHODES: The first of the Elimination Chamber qualifying matches had John Cena taking on the first member of Priceless to compete tonight in Cody Rhodes. Cena got his usual solid pop, while Rhodes had a decent though not great level of heat from the crowd. I tend to think that the Orton/Priceless situation from the Rumble may have the crowd pretty confused who they need to cheer, and just booed Rhodes because he was taking on Cena. The crowd was hot for the Champ during the opening moments of the match while Cody was in control. Cody got a decent amount of offense in this match, especially considering how obvious the finish here was going to be. We interestingly got a moonsault attempt from the Codester, before Cena finished this off with an Attitude Adjustment to advance. As a match, this wasn't all that. I mean, neither man was bad and it was interesting to see Rhodes bust out a new move, but otherwise this was just taking up time until the inevitable finish and there didn't seem to be a lot to it. It was solid in the basics, but nothing amazing by any stretch whatsoever.

THE WRONG:

ELIMINATION CHAMBER QUALIFIER: TED DIBIASE vs. MARK HENRY Before this match, Ted tried to apologize to Orton, but got nowhere. We then got his sad face…or his angry face. You be the judge:



Actually, I think it may be his "I didn't get enough fiber" face. But hey, whichever. Anyway, Ted's opponent was none other than the Wig-Splitter himself, Mizark. I wasn't particularly expecting a four-star match out of this, and we certainly didn't get that. That's not to say it was a bad match; to their credit, they laid out the match to Ted's strengths, and Mark did a fine job in helping kick-start the DiBiase push without letting himself get buried. This was a completely predictable match and yes, that made it boring. It was also a worse match than Cody vs. Cena, and was too short to boot. While I liked the fact that they're pushing Ted here, the match was pretty lackluster.

BUTTERFLY TITLE CATTINESS: Backstage, Gail Kim was talking with Triple K when Maryse came up. Maryse talked about how she was looking forward to the Butterfly Title match and wanted her and Gail to show what women's wrestling was all about after Mickie and Michelle had embarrassed themselves. This led to some French, then Maryse walking off so 'K and Gail could speculate. So, was this bad? Well yeah, kind of. Maryse stumbled a little bit, and Gail had utterly no personality in her voice or face. Kelly was all right I suppose, but this was overall a bust that made Gail look as underwhelming on the mic as her match with Alicia last week made her look in the ring. Can we finish this tournament, crown Maryse champion and be done with it already?

ELIMINATION CHAMBER QUALIFIER:KOFI KINGSTON vs. THE BIG SHOW: Well, this was an odd pairing. But hey, whatever gets Kofi in I suppose. Miz came down after the entrances and joined Lawler and Vintage on commentary to talk about his new tag team partner and the title match next week. Meanwhile, inside the ring we had a fairly predictable "high flyer vs. Big Show" match. Kofi fought back when he was behind and did the hit-and-run stuff, and Big Show shut him down with power moves and then squeezed Kofi like a zit. At an opportunity to attack Kofi MVP came down from the crowd and chased him to the back while Kofi made his comeback and, unfortunately, slipped climbing up the top. While Vintage and Lawler tried to explain it away Kofi kept it going and came back from that mistake nicely. I did think that the booking of the ending was pretty iffy and didn't do either man any favors, other than that it put Kofi in the Elimination Chamber. This could have been a worse match, but it wasn't great and I didn't dig it.

THE RIDICULOUS:

DID YOU KNOW?: Nope. And, as always, I don't care.

The 411

Great stuff for the most part on a very solid Raw. Shatner made a great guest host while I agreed with the booking decisions, even for the ones whose matches I disliked. This was a fantastic way for them to build several different storylines and keep the momentum from the Royal Rumble going strong, and while not everything was golden enough was to give this a very solid recommendation. Check this one out, it was a great Raw.

SHOW RATING: 8.5

From Manu:
John Morrison's promo was much better than his previous attempts IMO ,but he still has a long way to go before he can reach main event level.

I have to agree. He could carry himself just on his ring work, except his character is that of a charismatic figure and he needs his promo work to back that up. I think he is improving and he'll get there this year, but he's not there yet.


From TDS
The IC Title match was good, but Drew McIntyre's pin was wrong. WRONG I TELL YOU. Only Maryse could pull that off.

Meh. Didn't bother me. It clearly wasn't a sexual thing, he was just supposed to be exhausted and draped himself over Morrison. But hey, to each their own.


From The Great Capt. Smooth:
Just imagine if WWE hadn't misused R-Truth so many years ago.

Truth needed time in TNA to get himself into a better position. His K-Kwik days, he wasn't as mature of a performer as he is now and I think he needed time away from the WWE grindhouse to develop his skills. I don't blame them for letting him go at that time, and it was probably to both parties' benefit in the long run.


From Guest#6000:
Morrison vs. McIntyre should have been nowhere near the Right. It was mostly a dull affair considering the no DQ stipulation with the only mildly interesting parts down to Morrison only, and then he eats the pinfall again to a guy who proved once again he has no place on TV. Definitely nothing right about this one.

I know a lot of people don't like Morrison because he's not flashy, but he's solid in the ring and on the mic. As for the No DQ, what were you expecting? This was a free TV match on SmackDown, not an Extreme Rules match. They did very well all things considering, I thought.


From Question:
What is the criteria to write for this 'respected' site? Friends with the webmaster or host, perhaps?

Nope. I didn't personally know anyone on this site before I applied. Thanks for your interest though!


From Guest#7134:
Please stop bitching about MICHELLE McCOOL vs. MICKIE JAMES it makes you look like a little bitch just do why i do do zone out when it comes on.

Yes, because that would make for a very complete and thorough review, wouldn't it? It's a segment-by-segment categorization, and I can't just skip the stuff I don't like. That's your luxury as a non-reviewer. Thanks for reading, though!


From johnny:
I agree with you on this review Jeremy. SmackDown was great this week if not for the stupid diva segment it would be a 10.0 for me. Can you answer something for me? Why can't Raw book there shows more like this. And about the raw review. I was wrong to say you reviewed it pitiful and I'm sorry about that. Everybody has a different opinion. Anyways later.

I think the difference, honestly, is that SmackDown is the young, hot talent that all we in the IWC like (with exceptions), and Raw is the "Superstar" show that has all the big names we are sick of (again, with exceptions). But also, Raw's Creative team is probably under a lot more pressure and probably a fair amount of heavy-handed editing by the Boss, where I imagine SmackDown has a bit more creativity. Every now and then they knock one out of the park though!



By: Michael Bauer

ECW 02.02.10:

QUICK RESULTS:
Vance Archer defeated Shelton Benjamin [*3/4]
Yoshi Tatsu defeated Trent Barreta [*1/2]
Christian defeated Zack Ryder by DQ [**1/2]

THE RIGHT:

THE ABRAHAM WASHINGTON SHOW RETURNS: So we open the show with the Abraham Washington Show and he plays off his recent absence on NBC recruiting him to replace Conan O'Brien. Nice touch. Washington does quickly bring out Christian and surprisingly, doesn't poke any jokes at him. Not like he had a ton of time anyway since Zack Ryder was out almost instantly. He wanted to talk about real news and puts up Gregory Helms mug shot. Now, I was chatting with Chris Lansdell as this was happening and his response was very simple: "WWWOOOOOWWW!" Yeah, as shocking as it was that the WWE would actually go there, it isn't the first time they have done it. But still, it played perfectly into the storyline between Ryder and Hurricane. Gregory Helms is supposed to be this superhero for everyone, yet he would get into a drunken fight and arrested for it. Some superhero he is. So Ryder uses to say how much he should be the superhero of ECW. Well, Christian came to Helms' defense and used the very cliché, but true notion that everyone makes mistakes. Especially people Tiffany and Christian for having anything to do with Abraham Washington. Christian then takes a shot at Rosa, was causes a quick shoving match and leads to the main event for the night. This quote possibly was the best Abraham Washington show ever and while that doesn't say much, there have been some pretty good shows before. But the story of the night didn't end there...

GREGORY HELMS IS REALLY HAVING A BAD WEEK: Poor Gregory Helms. He had the honor of interviewing Ezekiel Jackson and William Regal coming off a tough defeat at the Royal Rumble for Big Zeke. Now, I saw Zeke coming to the ring. Holy crap, did he look pissed. And he never once took his eyes off of Helms. Considering everything that has happened, you know this could only lead to one thing. Helms got to ask his question about how Big Zeke is feeling, but never got his answer. Instead Regal commented on his bad week, to which Helms just wanted to do his job. Regal was just awesome here with saying his week would get worse. Big Zeke then laid out Helms, but Helms kept on fighting despite being outnumbered. Eventually, it would take a Knee Trembler, but Helms was out cold and Christian brought out the kendo stick to clean house. Now, I wasn't thrilled that Helms kept fighting back after Zeke nailed him, but Helms isn't most interviewers. And Christian coming out was perfect timing for the main event. This was just brilliant work overall.

CHRISTIAN vs. ZACK RYDER: The main event was between Christian and Zack Ryder as the majority of the show had built up to whatever was going to transpire in the main event. Ryder and Christian have had two matches on ECW previously, both of them being off the charts in how shockingly good they were. This one was also very good, but nowhere near on par with those previous two matches. This was also the one time that you don't have a normal introduction, but it still works. Like, why on earth would we need Christian to go to the back just to come back out? Ryder was focused tonight and for as much of a loud mouth as he is, this is the type of Ryder we need to see more of. No goofy entrance, no crap with Rosa, and no flamboyance from someone who hasn't earned it yet. This serious Ryder is a good one and I hope to see more of it. The match itself was pretty good and the synergy from past matches was evident. The ending involved Big Zeke coming back to do the DQ, which worked here. We always talk about there being too many DQ endings and while I tend to agree, there are sometimes when more than one DQ ending in a feud is needed. This I think is one of those times. It will probably lead to Christian and Hurricane vs. Ryder and Big Zeke next week, which isn't the worst thing in the world.

PURGATORY:

VANCE ARCHER FACES SHELTON BENJAMIN ON ECW, FINALLY: So after two battles on Superstars and a few shots on ECW, we finally get the match between Archer and Shelton on ECW. Now, seeing as they have fought already, you would hope for some good in-ring chemistry. Well, I wouldn't exactly have called is that, but they did work decently together in the ring. They also played off their own tendencies pretty well. Vance Archer is more methodical in his approach, while Shelton can slow it down, but went to his more aggressive side in this match, something that may have caught Archer off guard early. You know, just to add the extra dynamic. This much was pretty good, nothing groundbreaking, but that ending was horrific. I get what they were trying to do with Shelton leaping up and over for a sunset flip and having Archer drop down, grab the ropes, and win the match. But wow, was that totally botched. Shelton couldn't get his shoulders on the mat and Archer kept looking back to see if he should grab the ropes or not. Now, this is where the WWE has been smart to let the refs call the match as is and not what it should be. But that camera angle clearly showed that the spot was messed up and I am not sure if anyone is to blame for it. They did eventually call the audible and have Archer roll up Shelton with his feet on the ropes, but the match was ruined for me after that. Still, the overall effort before that point keeps this from being wrong. Also the fact that this was the right result for the match keeps it here.

VINCE MCMAHON'S MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: Short, sweet, and to the point. That is exactly what Vince's announcement was and what it should have been. ECW is done in three weeks time and Vince proclaimed his vision for what would take its place. Now, the big thing here has been about Vince not thanking the original ECW for the blood, sweat, and tears. And quite frankly, on the air, I don't think Vince should do so. Remember, this is heel Vince McMahon, or in his mind, the politically correct Vince McMahon. In his mind, thanking those people would be thanking people currently in TNA or thanking people who fell out of favor with him. It's just not a smart move. Now, while I liked his delivery, I still wish he could have given us some details of what to look for. Or at least said more would be revealed in X weeks. But he gave us nothing to work with and the fans at least deserve that.

THE WRONG:

YOSHI TATSU vs. TRENT BARRETA: I won't say much on this, because it is the same song and dance I say every week about Barreta. Simply put, this match was just there and outside of a cool move and one great counter, I didn't feel like Barreta did anything of note at all. Sure, he is learning Yoshi's tendencies by ducking the kick, but everyone by now knows to watch for that thing. And yeah, I like the Hurricanrana out of the corner, but when you get the two count, don't turn your back for that long on Yoshi, Seriously, I thought Yoshi winning looked like a fluke, when he is so much more over than the two BFFs on the other side of the ring.

THE RIDICULOUS:

NOTHING

The 411

This was a mixed show for me. On one hand, two of three matches were better than decent, even if one had a major fiasco for an ending. One the other hand, the promo work was much better than the in ring action, which is very rare for ECW. But of course, with all of three weeks left, who knows if it will matter on not. I just hope the WWE does it right and give us three solid shows to end it.

SHOW RATING: 6.5

Until Monday, keep on kickin' it!


~443~